Water (Jala) in a Pitta Time

By Melina Meza • August 8th, 2012 • 3958 Views

The water (jala) element plays a significant role in the Ayurvedic system during the summer season to balance the intensity of fire (agni) which can be transformative or fierce. Water is considered a balancing, cooling, calming force, essential to maintain our health, longevity, and juicy tissues. If you get overexposed to the fire element in nature, or become dehydrated, over-exercise during the hottest time of day, lose sleep, or travel too often, your luscious water body and inner reservoir of life-sustaining fluids will begin to evaporate into space and leave you feeling irritated, tired, and unfocused. Without sufficient water and hydration, your inner ecosystem will be in the red-alert, “high risk category” for running too hot and dry in the Pitta time of year, which occurs during June-August in North America.

Water is essential for life as we know it to exist. It is in every plant and food that we eat, in every cell in our body, and within everything in nature, yet it’s easy to forget how precious water is, where it comes from, and what it looks like in nature. One way to get re-connected to the water element and the water you drink is to take a hike and discover your local watershed!  Do you know where your drinking water comes from? Do you know the name of your local watershed? What’s its ecosystem looks like? What creatures and plants drink from the same source as you?

Once you arrive in nature, notice how it feels in your body to be near the source of water that sustains your life. Do you feel a connection with water? Can you see how water is part of a dynamic ecosystem, a part of you? I’ve had the good fortune of visiting and meditating by many rivers and a few watersheds this summer and have come to the conclusion that each body of water has its own personality and offers its own medicine. The sounds and rhythms in water do their part to call us into balance, back to our true self, and into our most elemental state. All we have to do is stop and listen.

Without sufficient water on a daily basis, you will likely experience dehydration, dry skin, tight fascia, stiffness, and constipation on a physical level. In life, you might experience a version of this “dryness”—lack of juiciness, when you over commit in work or social situations, eat...

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Location:  San Francisco Bay Area, US

Melina has been exploring the art and science of yoga and nutrition for over 18 years. She combines her knowledge of Hatha Yoga, Ayurveda, whole foods nutrition, and healthy lifestyle promotion into a unique style called...